Minutes before UCLA and Wisconsin entered 90 minutes of a back-and-forth battle, a Bruin and a Badger stood at midfield, their coaches on either side, heads bowed in silence.
UCLA senior defender Madison Tye and her sister, Wisconsin midfielder Alexis Tye, joined the crowd in attendance at Drake Stadium in a short ceremony honoring their mother, Dee Schmidt, who died in January after battling lymphoma.
“There was some tears shed before the game, they celebrated my mom which is always pretty hard,” Madison Tye said. “It was really awesome to have such a great support system both with my team and my family here.”
Tye added to the celebration by anchoring UCLA’s defense in a 2-1 victory over Wisconsin, opening the Bruins’ first homestand of the season with a victory.
UCLA dominated from the kickoff, registering 12 shots to Wisconsin’s four in the opening half. The majority of play was concentrated around the Badgers’ goal as the Bruins repeatedly drove deep into the opposing defense.
The first goal came 27 minutes in off a set play by UCLA. Junior defender/midfielder Gabbi Miranda struck a 27-foot attempt right into the back of the net and the Bruins pulled ahead by a score of 1-0.
“That’s something we just put in to set plays yesterday,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “That was the first time we actually ran that set play, today when she scored the goal.”
The half closed with an even score after the Badgers launched a swift counterattack in the 31st minute. Both the tie score and the teams’ rankings – UCLA at No. 12 and Wisconsin at No. 13 – failed to illustrate the Bruins’ domination of the first 45 minutes.
The score remained tied until the 74th minute when junior forward Amber Munerlyn buried a shot from the right of the penalty area to make it 2-1 UCLA. The goal was Munerlyn’s first as a Bruin after transferring from the University of North Carolina this season.
“I knew we would win if we kept doing what we we’re used to. We’ve been in this situation many times before,” Munerlyn said.
Although she’s a newcomer, Munerlyn said she felt at home in Drake Stadium due to the number of Bruins with whom she played at the club and national level. The transfer proved that comfort level by scoring after coming off the bench at half time.
“We’ve got a lot of newcomers coming on, and they always add a little spark to the game, which is so important,” Tye said. “It can’t just be starters, we need that energy from the bench, which they’ve been doing a really awesome job at so far.”
Cromwell said that she felt the roster featured 14 players who could be starters with 11 starting positions to fill. That level of depth will be key against the team’s next opponent, No. 2 Virginia, who UCLA faces on Friday.